


Like Coming Home

by braezenkitty



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Background Claire Novak, Background Mick Davies, Background Sam Winchester, Coda, Destiel if you squint - Freeform, Episode: s12e16 Ladies Drink Free, Gen, Worried Castiel, Worried Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 08:03:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10532292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braezenkitty/pseuds/braezenkitty
Summary: A coda for s12e16 Ladies Drink Free, where Dean and Cas are in fairly regular contact throughout the episode. This is a record of their conversations when there's noone around to witness them.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [tellthenight](http://tellthenight.tumblr.com/) for beta reading <3
> 
> Although Cas was visually and metaphorically all over this episode, I was disappointed that Cas didn't get an explicit mention. There's no way Dean wasn't texting and calling Cas throughout the hunt, and especially when Claire was bitten. So this is me, filling in those blanks.
> 
> "It’s like coming home after a long trip. That’s what love is like. It’s like coming home. " —Piper, Orange is the New Black

* * *

 

**Day One**

“Dude, this place is awesome,” Dean said, his voice carrying clearly over the phone connection despite him being on earth while Cas was in Heaven. “Mr. Fancy Pants Brit got us each our own room—suites even. The beds don't have magic fingers, but they put these little chocolates on your pillow and I think the mattresses are memory foam.”

Cas imagined Dean sprawled out on white sheets, sinking into the mattress and groaning in pleasure while stuffing chocolate in his face. He smiled at the image.

“And oh my god the water pressure in the shower is amazing. There's even one of those fancy massaging shower heads. We gotta get one of those for home.”

“Sounds awesome, Dean,” Cas said, a small grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Wait, what?” Dean said sharply. “Did you just say _'sounds awesome’_?” A snort followed by a giggle sounded through the phone.

“I did,” Cas said, grinning. “It seems I've picked up some of your colloquialisms.”

“And then you go and ruin it by throwing in a ten cent word like that.” Dean huffed a laugh and fell silent. Cas heard him yawn.

“You sound tired.”

“Was a long drive,” Dean said, punctuating it with another yawn, “Sam and Mick played these boring ass nerdy podcasts the entire drive. I swear I almost fell asleep and drove into a ditch half a dozen times.”

“That would've been unfortunate.”

Dean snorted again.

“You should probably get some rest, Dean. It's late there, isn't it?”

“Yeah.” Cas heard the phone shuffled. “It's almost eleven. What time is it where you are?”

A pang of guilt shot through Castiel. “Oh, it's still early, only nine,” he lied. There was no concept of hours or time passing in Heaven, but Dean still thought he was near Coeur d’Alene so pacific time wouldn’t sound unreasonable.

“You still on the west coast somewhere?”

“Washington,” Cas said without hesitation.

“Any more leads on Kelly?”

“Not since I got here,” Cas said, clearing his throat. “I'll let you know if I get anything. Get some sleep, Dean.”

“Yeah, alright. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will—and you too. Be careful tomorrow.”

Dean snorted. “Careful is my middle name.”

Cas grinned and rolled his eyes. “Goodnight, Dean.”

 

* * *

 

**Day Two**

_7:00 am_

**Dean:**

I just got back from the pool

this place has an actual pool Cas

and fluffy white robes and towels

even fluffy white slippers

 

_7:35 am_

**Dean:**

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/lfl/2222021793)

room service is awesome

we gotta stay at more places with room service

I didn’t even have to get dressed to eat

and I didn’t have to listen to Sammy yammering to his new British boyfriend about their nerdy mutual interests

 

_8:15 am_

**Dean:**

guess you’re busy

we’re heading out to start investigating

call me later?

 

Cas scrolled to the last message, his finger hesitating over the reply box. He closed out of the messaging app and shut the screen off, sliding the phone back into his pocket. He’d try to call Dean later if his meeting with Joshua went well.

 

_7:58 pm_

**Dean:**

hey Cas

we ran into Claire

she’s been working the case

she looks good. still feisty as hell

we’ll watch out for her so don’t worry

 

Guilt flooded through Cas’ chest. He should be there with Dean and Claire. He stood and paced the room Kelvin had shown him to hours—or was it days?—ago. It was so easy to lose track of time in Heaven. It felt like he’d been waiting here forever. He pulled up Dean’s contact and tapped the button to call.

“Cas! ‘Bout time, buddy. What’s going on with you?” Dean sounded almost exuberant, and Cas guessed he’d probably had a couple of beers.

“Nothing really, just trying to dig up a lead on Kelly.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. While he sat in Heaven’s waiting room he’d been scrolling through news articles and tabloids, looking for any sign of angel or demon activity that might involve a pregnant woman.

“Still no luck, huh?”

“No, I’m afraid not. She seems to have become ‘dust in the wind’.”

“Dude,” Dean said with a laugh. “Did you just quote a Kansas song?”

“I suppose I did,” Cas said with an affectionate grin. “It seems you have rubbed off on me quite a bit.”

Dean barked a laugh that sounded a bit too loud, a bit nervous or forced. Cas frowned and opened his mouth to ask if he’d said something to make Dean uncomfortable, but Dean spoke first.

“So did you get my messages?”

“I did,” Cas said, hoping Dean wouldn’t ask why he hadn’t responded. “How’s Claire?”

“She’s doing good—besides thinking she can work a hunt alone. Says Jody knows where she is and what she’s doing, but if I know Jody there’s no way she’d let Claire hunt down a werewolf without backup.”

“So she’s lying?”

“Of course she’s lying, man, she’s a teenager,” Dean said, sighing into the phone. “She just wants to be part of the action, prove she’s a real hunter already. Reminds me a lot of Sam when he was younger, before he decided he wanted to go to school.”

“So do you think there’s hope Claire might change her mind and go to school?”

Dean huffed a laugh. “I don’t know. The girl’s driven to help people, and she’s stubborn as all hell.”

“Sounds like she’s a lot like you in that regard.”

“Are you calling me stubborn?” Dean said, his voice incredulous.

Cas grinned. “You are stubborn, Dean, infuriatingly so at times.”

“Yeah, well, you’re… stubborn.”

“We do have that in common.” Cas’ grin softened into something fond. Dean’s stubbornness was an endless source of frustration for Cas, but it was also something he greatly admired in him. Dean never backed down when he knew he was right and it was something worth fighting for. And he’d been fighting for Cas a lot lately… as if Cas was someone worth fighting for.

Cas sighed.

“Hey, you okay?” Dean asked.

“I’m—I’m fine, Dean.” Cas hesitated, taking a breath before continuing. “I just want to be home.”

“Yeah, I hear you. Me too, buddy.”

 

* * *

 

**Day Three**

Cas’ phone beeped and he stopped pacing the tiny, monochrome room to pull it out of his pocket.

 

_7:15 am_

**Dean:**

got an omelet for breakfast today

with extra bacon

you would’ve loved it

maybe I’ll teach you how to make them when we get back home

 

_7:17 am_

**Cas:**

I would enjoy that, Dean

be careful today

 

_7:18 am_

**Dean:**

yeah, yeah

you too

 

Cas didn’t hear from Dean again until what would’ve been close to evening in Wisconsin. He was talking with Kelvin, so he missed the call but didn’t miss the fact that his phone, which he had on vibrate in his pocket, rang twice in quick succession and then received a message. Whether it was a voicemail or a text, Cas didn’t know until Kelvin finally left him what felt like hours later and he was able to pull his phone out. It was a voicemail.

 _“Hey, Cas, um… I uh, have something to tell you,”_ Dean said, ending in a sigh. _“Shit, I really didn’t want to do this in a voicemail.”_ Dean fell silent for a breath and Cas could hear what sounded like footsteps. He must be pacing. _“Sorry, man, I’m really sorry but Claire got bit and—”_ Dean let loose an explosive breath before continuing, his voice quavering, _“it’s not looking good. She wanted to try this sketchy cure the Brits developed, but it’s never been tested on a human, only mice, and it only worked once out of ten times. Shit, Cas, I said I’d take care of her and now she’s probably fucking dying.”_ Dean took in a long, shuddering breath. His voice was quiet when he spoke again. _“I’m so sorry, Cas. Fuck, I wish you were here.”_

The line clicked and Cas sat listening to but not really hearing the female voice asking him if he’d like to delete the message or replay it. He ignored her, hitting the button to end the call then navigating to Dean’s contact. Dean picked up after two rings.

“Dean,” Cas said, before Dean could even say hello, “how’s Claire?”

“Hey, she’s fine, she pulled through,” Dean said, his smile evident in his voice.

“Did it work? The cure?”

“Yeah, she’s back to her normal, feisty, stubborn self— _without_ claws or fangs.”

“Oh, _ecrin Iad_ ,” Cas breathed as he slumped into a chair that looked more comfortable than it actually was.

“Was that enochian?”

“Yes,” Cas said, running a hand over his eyes. “I was offering a prayer of thanks. Your voicemail had me worried.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. It, uh, the process wasn’t easy to watch and I kinda freaked a little bit.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer,” Cas said, his heart aching for Dean and for Claire for what they’d both been through that day.

“Hey, it’s alright man, you’re busy—”

“No, Dean,” Cas interrupted, “it’s not alright. I should be there with you. You’re my family and I’m off—” Cas cut himself off. “I should be there.”

“Cas, don’t be like that,” Dean said, his voice soft. “What you’re doing is important. We need to find Kelly.”

“I know,” Cas said, sighing and leaning back into his chair. He wondered if Dean would feel the same if he knew where Cas was at this moment. “Dean, I—I have something I have to tell you.”

“Okay,” Dean said, drawing the word out into a question. “You didn’t get bit by a werewolf too, did you?”

“No, Dean,” Cas said with a sigh and an eye roll, “this is serious.”

“Okay, what’s up?”

“I—” Cas started, taking a deep breath, “I’ve returned to Heaven—”

“What?”

“—temporarily.”

Cas heard Dean’s scoff over the phone line. “Are you serious?” he said, huffing. “How long have you been there? How long are you staying?”

“I’ve been here for a couple of days, just to talk to Joshua about finding Kelly. Heaven has a plan, and they want me in on it. If I help them I could be restored in their eyes—‘welcomed back to the fold’ as they say.”

Dean didn’t say anything, but Cas heard him release a long breath. “So just like that—Heaven snaps their fingers, and you’re back to doing their bidding?”

“I’m not—”

“Yes, Cas, that’s exactly what you’re doing,” Dean said, his anger coming through in the intensity of his words, though his voice was even and quiet. “Those dicks with wings haven’t done shit for you, never have, even when you _were_ welcome there. They use you, Cas, that’s what they do and that’s what they’re doing now. And you’re falling for it, just like you always have.”

“Dean—”

“No, no it’s fine, Cas. You don’t gotta explain shit to me, I get it. You wanna go back to your _real_ home.”

Hearing the words Kelvin had used coming out of Dean’s mouth, with Dean’s venom, stung. Cas fell silent, his mouth open with words of denial perched on the tip of his tongue. Dean was right though. As much as he wanted his rightful place in Heaven restored to him, it was a hollow want. He didn’t need them—he already had a real family, a real home. He needed to remember that.

“You’re right, Dean. Thank you for reminding me.”

Cas heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

“They’re using me—or trying to. But I know where my real home is now, and it’s not with them,” Cas said, lowering his voice just in case Kelvin or another angel was nearby. “I’ll get what information and help from them that I can, and then I’ll come home. To _you_.”

Stunned silence was Dean’s response, but finally he spoke. “Good. That’s good, Cas. Okay. Be careful though, alright? I don’t trust any of those feathery assholes.”

“You trust me.”

“Yeah, but that’s different. You’re not like them,” Dean said. “Look—just be careful and call me if anything important comes up, okay?”

“Of course, Dean,” Cas said, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I’ll be home soon.”


End file.
